When the news broke earlier this week that the Cavs‘ 2021 first-round draft pick Evan Mobley would be sidelined for up to a month with a sprained elbow, it was heart-breaking for Cavaliers fans. Before the injury in the loss to the Celtics on Monday night, Cleveland had won six of their last seven games. Including Monday’s loss, the team has now lost two straight with a tough matchup with Golden State coming this evening. So while it is a bit of doom and gloom in Cleveland right now, everything isn’t all bad.
The loss last night to the Brooklyn Nets, their second straight, was an inconsistent roller coaster. At the half, Steve Nash’s squad was up 62-41 and had looked rather dominant against an injury-ridden Cavs team. However, by the end of the third quarter, Cleveland had mounted a comeback and was looking to pull out an upset.
Unfortunately, James Harden was just too tough to handle down the stretch and the Cavs fell to 9-7. Now if the playoffs started today the Cavs would slot into the six seed, and face off with Chicago in the first round.
The short-handed Cavs lost to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Who stood out, for good and for ill?
Overall the Cavs have still been a pleasant surprise so far this season, and there’s reason to believe in the future. However, they can’t continue to play like they did last night and expect to stay in the playoff race. So while it was a loss, there were some bright spots. Let’s take a dive into two studs and one dud from the loss last night.
Stud: Dean Wade
The only player on the team to finish with a positive rating (+4) on the night was none other than Dean Wade. If you check the box score after the game, nothing about Wade jumps out at you. However, he was a crucial cog last night, especially on defense. He was tasked with guarding Kevin Durant when he was on the floor, and oddly enough, kept Durant in the negative. KD was a -4 for the game last night, the only starter on the Nets not to receive a positive rating. So, when he was on the floor, Wade put forth a ton of effort in locking down Durant. Wade is absolutely a player that will be crucial for the Cavs with this latest string of injuries.
Dean Wade is also incredibly valuable on the offensive end of the court. Last night he only had 11 points, but in doing so he shot 3-of-8 from the field and 2-of-6 from three-point range. When he was open and tasked with hitting a shot, he delivered multiple times. Overall, Wade’s stat line is good across the board. He finished the game with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. It’s safe to say, Wade was not the reason the Cavs lost last night.
Stud: Darius Garland
Darius Garland may not have been at his best last night, but he was still the floor general for the Cavs when he was on the court. On the game Garland had 24 points on 10-of-26 shooting. Yes, Garland took 26 shots last night, with 13 of them being from three-point range. While his percentage was low, this is the kind of shot volume the Cavs need from Garland. If he is to truly take the next step and become one of the best young point guards in the NBA, he needs to shoot, and attack the rim more often.
Now Garland is a great distributor, but with Collin Sexton, Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen, and Evan Mobley all sidelined, he needs to step up and be more of a scorer. The Cavs will have to make a tough decision on Collin Sexton this offseason, but that won’t be the case with Garland. He’s a great floor general and distributor, and with Sexton out, he’s their best choice on the offensive end. So for right now, I say, let it fly my man. Let it fly DG.
Dud: Three-Point Shooting
Surprisingly enough the Cavs are actually shooting pretty well as a team from three-point range. On the year, they are shooting just over 33% from deep. Cedi Osman is shooting over 40% from deep, and Garland is just below that percentage at 38%. However, last night the Cavs wouldn’t have been able to hit water if they fell out of a boat.
As a team they shot 11-of-44 from three last night. Garland was 3-of-13, Ricky Rubio was 3-of-10, and the lone bright spot, Cedi Osman, was 2-for-6 from three. Like I said earlier, if the Cavs plan on staying in the playoff race they need to eliminate these types of games.
The young core of the team looks like a good bet to get better and better each week. Especially in the case of Evan Mobley if he can pick things back up upon returning. I’m hoping this was just a blip on the radar, and the poor shooting will not continue. However, it’s naive to believe they won’t have bad games. With that being said, they need to work on getting through early season struggles, so the product on the court will be better in the end.
Last night’s loss was a stinker, but I don’t think we’ll see this type of shooting performance from the Cavs for quite a while. In a loss of just 10 points on the road against a title contender, better shooting could have been the difference.